Wizard World Philly 2011

This con didn’t start off on a good note, and that was in no shape the conventions fault; My ride up for Friday bailed on me mere hours before leaving. So instead I went bull riding that night. Saturday wasn’t any easier. We (Pat and I) left a half hour late and got stuck in some pretty shitty traffic.

We did get there, and I got my floor pass from Mike Riley, the creative force behind the hysterical ‘i taste sound’. He was sitting in a small press booth, which I quickly found out (and which he knew from before) was a really shitty spot for him. First, it was underneath an air vent, so it was nice and freezing. Second, people were very reluctant to come over and look at his book. Even after yelling at people to come over, most here all “meh” and kept going. Eventually we moved to the artists alley, where things were much better…and warmer.

The convention itself was larger than last year. They moved into a much better, bigger hall. The “celebrities” were all with each other, the comics were kind of all with each other, and the other crap was all with each other. I heard mixed reviews about comic sales that weekend. A few dealers had a great turnout, while others could barely move stuff. The artist alley was packed, and from what I could tell, everyone was doing fairly well.

One thing I noticed about this con…Not a lot of volunteers/staff walking around. Trying to get an answer on anything was akin to pulling teeth. Pat informed me that the pre-reg line was only being manned by two people. Two people to handle thousands of guests. That’s terrible. Someone really dropped the ball at Wizard this year. It was also impossible to move at times during the con on Saturday. I know, Saturday is the busiest day of any convention. However, many conventions cap attendance. Otakon has become the master of capping, and I only wish more conventions would do the same.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable show. I spent most of my time in the artists alley, helping out. I didn’t buy much, except for some things in the artists alley. Once Pat gets his pictures online, I’ll post a picture report.